“The king who was my predecessor did not believe that it was impossible to discover the furthest limit of the Atlantic Ocean and wished vehemently to do so.”

Mansa Musa Mali

“He left me to deputize for him and embarked on the Atlantic Ocean with his men. That was the last we saw of him and all those who were with him, and so I became king in my own right.”

Mansa Musa Mali

“We belong to a house which hands on the kingship by inheritance.”

Mansa Musa Mali

“I came for the Pilgrimage and nothing else. I do not wish to mix anything else with my Pilgrimage.”

Mansa Musa Mali

“I have restored that which was ruins, I have raised up that which was unfinished.”

Hatshepsut Egypt

“I am a great chief: no one ever sees me sing, no one ever sees me eat; no one has ever sat at table with me.”

Samori Touré Guinea

“If you want war, I am ready. I will not end it, though it lasted a hundred years and killed twenty thousand of my men.”

Béhanzin Benin